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Team of the Year

This award is made to ARU’s most successful team from the previous 12-months. The team will be able to demonstrate an outstanding record of achievement in all competition, a positive team culture, a drive to excel and to be an exemplar of the spirit of sport at ARU.

The American Football Club have had their most successful year since the club was formed in 2012.

The team went undefeated during the 2019-20 BUCS regular season to be crowned division champions and gain promotion. The performance of the team is almost unrecognisable to that of previous seasons. Competition over the last few years for the club has been tough, finishing many seasons with a losing record. The turnaround in fortunes this year was therefore truly unexpected and took everyone by surprise, evoking comparisons with Leicester City’s Premier League win in 2015-16.

Through a combination of new player intake with a few old faces returning to the team setup, performances on the pitch have been outstanding. This was complemented with strong leadership in the defensive team from our Male Sports Person of the Year Cenk Jeffery. The team achieved an undefeated record of 5 wins and 1 draw with defensive shut outs in 50% of those matches.

The team’s impressive on-field performances have been matched by their efforts outside of competition. The club have led the way in their use of social media and posters around campus to promote fixtures, events and profile players’ individual achievements.

There is a new-found purpose and drive within the team and they show no signs of slowing down in the years to come.